They punished the idler as criminals.是什么意思？

They punished the idler as criminals.

他们把懒汉作为罪犯来惩罚.

they

pron. 他/她/它们，人们，大家，政府，当局，她们；

例句
The storms had abated by the time they rounded Cape Horn.
他们绕过合恩角时，暴风雨已经减弱。

punished

v. 罚( punish的过去式和过去分词 )，处罚，粗暴地对待，痛打；

例句
He was punished for his impertinence.
他因为冒失无礼受到惩罚。

the

art. 指已提到的人（物），指说话人与听者已知的人（物），用于独一无二的事物前，与形容词最高级和序数词连用；

例句
He did have a real knowledge of the country...
他对该国的确知之甚多。

idler

n. 懒汉，无所事事的人；

例句
They punished the idler as criminals.
他们把懒汉作为罪犯来惩罚.

as

adv. 同样地，一样地，例如；prep. 作为，以…的身份，如

例句
As far as I can recall, Patti was a Smith.
我记得帕蒂是姓史密斯的。

criminals

n. 罪犯，犯人( criminal的名词复数 )；

例句
He was certain Sid would be eaten alive by the hardened criminals in the jail.
他确信锡德在监狱中肯定会被那些怙恶不悛的罪犯们扒掉一层皮。